It's nearly a decade since the all-American circus abandoned its centuries-old, three-ring circus format and became an arena show, but it packs in just as much entertainment as before. Ringling's new ring-free style has all the acts we remember but focuses attention better for a generation of kids whose day-to-day lives seem to have more rings than our own did. The most important elements - elephants, tigers, acrobats, and clowns - are all still there, and the giant stadium approach gives all of these stars even more room to do their thing in Ringling's 2013 show, Built To Amaze.

A circus wouldn't feel like a circus without trapeze artists and tightrope walkers, and Built To Amaze features both in a big way (without nets). There are also all manner of floor acrobats, aerialists, contortionists, stilt-walkers, unicyclists, tumblers, trampoline artists, and clowns. There's even the woman who gets fired out of the cannon, which turns out to be just as thrilling to our high-tech kids as it was a hundred years ago. But what really sets The Greatest Show on Earth apart from other circus shows are the animals.

I didn't just ask the two kids in our party; I asked other kids, too. And consistently, I had to increase the question to "five favorite things" before I got a human mention from any kid (and then it was that cannon lady every time!). The top three acts for every kid I asked were the elephants, the tigers, and the giant performing poodles. Horses, bunnies, and snakes beat out those hard-working trapeze artists, too.

Before continuing on the topic of performing animals, though, a word must be said about respect for animals, and about the protesters outside the show. Every Barnum & Bailey performance attracts a sizable group of animal activists and PETA protesters. While most of us feel that animals deserve respect, kindness, and a good life, unfortunately the protesters who stand outside the circus tend to put images in front of children that are upsetting and challenging for parents to explain. They also hand out coloring books filled with disturbing images and information that is highly questionable in its reliability. In short, you may want to brace your kids to walk briskly past the flurry outside the arena.

Ringling Bros. is staffed by animal lovers, trained animal professionals, nutritionists, and veterinarians. The circus has also - I've learned - done more to promote elephant preservation than any other entity on the planet, with more live births on its Florida elephant sanctuary than any other conservation facility in the country. By sheer coincidence, the week that we attended the circus my son was attending camp at the Moorpark Teaching Zoo, which is part of the college's degree program in Exotic Animal Training and Management. We learned that some of the staff at the circus were alumni of the program at Moorpark, and the camp's counselors (all students at the college) were given a backstage tour of the animals' living and working conditions. Happily, the camp counselors were therefore able to answer all the questions and concerns my son had after seeing the images presented by the PETA protestors. We were both satisfied by the first-hand accounts of these passionate animal-lovers, that the Ringling Bros. animals receive the love, respect, and conditions they should.

Once inside the stadium, one of the bonuses of the show is an hour-long preshow on the arena floor, with music, clowning, and personal interaction with the circus stars (including performing elephants). It's definitely worth coming early for this, but be warned that, once the show starts properly, it's a long time until intermission. Our nine-year-old was unfazed, but the first half was a bit long for the four-year-old.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus: Built To Amaze plays three venues in the Southland - Staples Center, Anaheim, and Ontario - between July 10 and August 4, 2013.